A major Danish promotion is scheduled to take place in Vietnam from 13th to 21st of September 2003, possibly headed by His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark who grew up in Vietnam during the years of French dominance.
The delegation will visit both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected, that the participation of HRH Prince Henrik in the arrangements will attract an added number of Vietnamese businessmen to the seminars and meetings which will take place during the week.
The organizers of the event are the Confederation of Danish Industries – DI, the Danish Trade Council, the Royal Danish Embassy in Hanoi and other business associations in Denmark. Focus will be on the traditional strong Danish export areas: Agriculture, Food production, Fisheries, Marine equipment, Environment and Energy.
The opening ceremony in Hanoi will take place on Monday 15 September. On Tuesday, the companies may have individual business meetings while HRH Prince Henrik will lead companies within energy and environment to visit a water and sanitation project at Halong under the supervision of the Danish consultant company Kampsax.and possibly also visit a Danish related company in Hai Phong.
The opening ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City will take place in the morning of Thursday 18 September. In the afternoon, a company visit to KMC Tapioca Starch Company will be included in the program as well as a visit to a currently not yet selected company established with the support of the Private Sector facility of the Danish development cooperation agency, Danida.
The overall purpose of the promotional event is to facilitate contacts between Danish and Vietnamese businessmen and at a higher level than usually possible and in general strengthen the commercial relations between Denmark and Vietnam.
Another purpose is to increase the general perception among Danish companies of the current business climate in Vietnam. Although the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy is not fully completed, the process initiated in 1986 has today come further than many Danes are aware. Only few know, that in its 10 year plan for 2001-2010 the Vietnamese government estimates a doubling of the current BNP based on among others structural changes within agriculture, industry and the service sector.
Danish companies are also not generally aware of the growth in the Vietnamese import sector. Vietnam accounts today only for 2 percent of the Danish exports to the ASEM countries, but if the current trend continues, Vietnam will develop into an important export market for Danish companies.
The promotion in September will include production of a brochure with a presentation of all participating companies which will be mailed to potential Vietnamese companies in order to organize match-making meetings between the Danish participants and potential clients or business partners in Vietnam.
Further information may be obtained from the Royal Danish Embassy in Hanoi, 19 Dien Bien Phu, Hanoi, Vietnam, ph: +84 (4) 8 231 888, fax: +84 (4) 8 231 999, Website: http://www.dk-vn.dk/ Email: [email protected] or DI – Confederation of Danish Industries, att. Mrs. Hanne Ramstedt, email: [email protected]
